There’s something about loaf cakes that make me think of picnics. I guess because they’re easy to pack and relatively easy to make. It is actually one of the building blocks of cake making; and when you’re only just beginning to learn how to bake, you will definitely have had baked a banana bread at some point. A loaf cake is like a little celebration even when you’re just having a snack. It’s a low-key cake, but still a cake, so it’s really all the joys minus the bells and whistles. You can certainly up your loaf cake game quite easily. It’s an empty canvas where you can experiment new flavors to perhaps eventually do on a full-fledged cake. This Butter Walnut Loaf surely does not scrimp on indulgence, as I combine walnuts and pistachios and blueberries. You can pick other fruit, of course, as it’s not like you find fresh blueberries often, but I really like the idea of pairing this with a lemon glaze. Blueberries are often soaked in lemon juice to maintain their freshness and tang, so the lemon glaze intensifies this. It’s very country cottage-y, which brings up images of an afternoon picnic in some rolling hills.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 cup white sugar
5 pcs eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp butter oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
walnut
pistachio
blueberry
sugar glaze
PROCEDURE:
- Preheat oven at 180˚C.
- Grease and flour your loaf pans.
- Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, vanilla and oil.
- Combine all the dry ingredients. Add to the wet mixture.
- Fold in the fruits and nuts.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until done.
For the glaze:
- Add tablespoons of milk and some lemon juice to confectioner’s sugar until it reaches the proper consistency.
- Pour the glaze on top of the loaf cake. Sprinkle the zest of a lemon on top of the glaze.